Oil and gas exploration and production in ecosystems of

high biodiversity value pose both risks and opportunities

for energy companies. In terms of risks, operations

can have negative primary and secondary impacts

on ecosystems and the quality of air, water and soil.

Avoiding, minimizing and mitigating these impacts should

be the priority of project managers and companies.

Further information on primary and secondary

impacts and responses can be found in Good Practice

in the Prevention and Mitigation of Primary and

Secondary Biodiversity Impacts.

However, in an increasingly inter-connected global

economy, pressure from governments, communities,

shareholders and non-governmental organizations

(NGOs) is building for companies to go beyond

mitigating negative impacts and to take advantage of

opportunities to benefit biodiversity conservation in and

around project sites and in the countries and regions

where they operate. Such activities are particularly

important in countries where capacity and resources

for protecting the environment are scarce or are not a

priority because of more immediate social and economic

needs.

Companies can make investments in biodiversity

conservation at both a project level and a company

level. At the project level, such activities are likely to be

strongly driven by the results of a project Environmental

and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) and any identified

value associated with actions that go beyond mitigation to

benefit valuable and threatened ecological resources. At

the company level, opportunities to benefit biodiversity

conservation can be a key part of an overall company

environmental and social responsibility strategy that

recognizes the strong role of biodiversity conservation

in sustainable development and the business value of a

positive public reputation on biodiversity issues.

Further information on ESIAs can be found in

Integrating Biodiversity into Environmental and

Social Impact Assessment Processes.

By proactively capitalizing on opportunities to improve

the state of conservation in ecosystems with high

biodiversity value, companies can ideally leave an area’s

biodiversity, or the local capacity to conserve it, in better

condition than before oil or gas activity began. Such

activities are distinct from offsets, which are designed

to reduce and compensate for the negative impacts

of a project (see Box 1). While activities designed to

benefit biodiversity may be similar to those intended

to meet no net loss goals, they often encompass a

broader geographic area or timeframe. Investment in an

opportunity to benefit biodiversity assumes that shortterm loss of or damage to biodiversity as a result of oil

and gas production can lead to a long-term net benefit

to both the economy and the environment through the

reinvestment of economic rents from the oil or gas

activities, both from government revenue and company

donations, into conservation beyond the life of a project.

In some countries, the concept of promoting benefits

to biodiversity has become standard, and sometimes

required, practice. In Western Australia, for example, the

government approval process for new natural resource

development projects requires developers to contribute

to “net conservation benefits” that go beyond typical

project-specific mitigation measures. The policy builds

on the idea that, although impacts from a project will

most likely be felt at a local level, the conservation values

associated with the impacted resources are often more

generalized and widespread. Consequently, addressing

these broader values requires a different approach

than the impact management strategies used at the

development site